Dawn of Heroes

Let us remember the turning points of our history together, through the shared language of dance and music.

Under the title Dawn of Heroes, the Hungarian National Dance Ensemble, Hungary’s largest professional dance company, presents a spectacular large-scale dance production on 4 July 2026 at the Szeged Open-Air Festival. The performance will also mark the ceremonial opening of the 2026 season on Dóm Square.
The first act evokes the ominous years leading up to the Battle of Mohács in A Dance Chronicle of the Deeds of György Dózsa, with actor József Wunderlich as guest performer in the title role.
The second act will present the world premiere of Requiem for Mohács, a unique stage vision created by choreographers Zoltán Zsuráfszky, Artist of the Nation and Kossuth Prize laureate, and Zsuzsa Zs. Vincze, Kossuth Prize laureate. Marking the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Mohács, the production turns our attention to one of the gravest tragedies in Hungarian history, whose consequences are still felt to this day.
“Dózsa was destroyed at Timișoara, and soon afterwards came Mohács. National tragedies followed one another, yet it speaks of the indestructible vitality of the Hungarian people that, amid these tragedies, they carried their human, national and historical aspirations into the realm of the spirit. After Timișoara and Mohács, Hungarian literature in the true sense was born, and Hungarian consciousness began to unfold. Amid the shocks and collapses of the sixteenth century, a national ascent took place in the realm of the spirit. This was not only a century of despair, but also a century of Hungarian hope.” (Géza Féja, 1938)

We speak of mournful times and heroes of tragic fate, yet the moving and uplifting moments of shared remembrance, and the idea of belonging together, create a communal experience in which we may rediscover the enduring beauty and strength of our own culture.